Harlingen – Taking care of patients with only the most advanced clinical technology
available in healthcare. That is the commitment of the award-winning and
nationally recognized Harlingen Medical Center (HMC). And, this month,
HMC is proud to announce the arrival of the new “ProSound F75 Premier
Endoscopic Ultrasound Processor,” which is built to better visualize
the tissues of the digestive tract and adjacent anatomical structures
inside the human body.

“The ProSound F75 Premier Endoscopic Ultrasound Processor allows
our gastroenterologists to more accurately diagnose diseases of the Gastrointestinal
(GI) tract and surrounding organs such as the pancreas, bile duct, liver,
spleen and gallbladder, as well as assessing a variety of cancers,”
said Deborah Meeks, RN and Chief Nursing Officer at Harlingen Medical
Center. “In addition, this new endoscopic ultrasound delivers outstanding
image quality that facilitates easy identification and more accurate staging
of gastrointestinal tumors.”

The ProSound F75 Premier Endoscopic Ultrasound Processor is housed inside
the Endoscopy Unit at Harlingen Medical Center, which is where all screenings
for colon cancer occur.

“March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and, right
now, my team and I are putting the spotlight on the very important screening
for colon cancer,” said Melanie Little, RN, Day Patient and Endoscopy
Unit Manager at Harlingen Medical Center. “According to the American
Cancer Society, more than 125,000 new cases of gastrointestinal cancer
are diagnosed every year. Of those, more than 91,000 people lost their
lives from these diseases in 2013 alone. So, we want people to understand
the importance of this screening.”

According to Olympus Medical Systems Group, the maker of the ProSound F75
Premier Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Processor, this advanced clinical
technology helps improve clinical outcomes for patients by more effectively
indentifying gastrointestinal tumors – helping patients battle potential
cancers. In addition, according to Truven Health Analytics, an independent,
multi-national health care company that delivers unbiased information,
benchmarks and research to the healthcare industry, the number of EUS
outpatient procedures will increase by 2016 and will reach 235,000 procedures.

Conventional ultrasounds are performed by placing a transducer, which converts
variations in a physical quantity, such as pressure or brightness, into
an electrical signal, or vice versa, against skin to produce images of
internal organs. The ProSound F75 Premier Endoscopic Ultrasound Processor
allows the gastroenterologist to insert the transducer endoscopically
into the body via the digestive tract, putting it closer to the area on
interest to obtain higher resolution images – to better assess medical issues.

This ProSound F75 also addresses key requirements included in healthcare reform:

Increased Quality of Care – EUS drives optimal patient outcomes through easy identification
and more accurate staging of diseases and cancers in the GI tract.

Decreased Costs – The EUS is built for forward and backward scope compatibility,
providing more efficient use of assets, at a more cost effective rate.

The ProSound F75 Premier Endoscopic Ultrasound Processor will be utilized
by the highly experienced Gastroenterologists of Harlingen Medical Center,
and the highly trained Endoscopy Unit team, which as of now, is the only
unit in Cameron County to be recognized by the American Society for Gastrointestinal
Endoscopy (ASGE), a leading gastrointestinal medical society.

This recognition is the result of the unit team’s commitment to patient
safety and quality in endoscopy and by meeting the ASGE Endoscopy Unit
Recognition Program’s rigorous criteria. An endoscopy unit is recognized
after its staff has demonstrated absolute competence relative to their
roles, demonstrated the adoption of unit policies specific to ongoing
assessment of performance relative to key quality indicators, and attest
that the unit has an established infrastructure and personnel dedicated
to infection control and prevention. Another important element of the
recognition is the completion, by staff, of an educational course titled,
“Improving Quality and Safety in Your Endoscopy Unit.”

To learn more about the Endoscopy Unit at Harlingen Medical Center’s
services contact the Marketing Department at (956) 365-1848.